What I'd like to know is why animals don't go after zombies? You'd expect that legions of crows and ravens, if not every other predator in the area (including dogs) would be all over them in an instant. The birds at least ought to render any zombies down to bare bones in a few hours, going by recent studies with buzzards and human corpses.

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I think that would depend on how long you can get the zombie to stand still.

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What I'd like to know is why animals don't go after zombies? You'd expect that legions of crows and ravens, if not every other predator in the area (including dogs) would be all over them in an instant. The birds at least ought to render any zombies down to bare bones in a few hours, going by recent studies with buzzards and human corpses.

I guess in the same way people aren't randomly attacked by animals a zombie wouldn't be either for a long time after infection just through general animal fear .by the time the animals would have become feral and gathered in packs and such, they'd have been hunted as food for surviving humans lol. at that point they'd have no desire to be near anything even close to what a human looks like. Aslong as a zombie hasn't laid down for too long they should be free of crows and such just for the fact they're moving about. Has me wondering how aware animals are of toxic or diseased meat.

Two of the most noxious odours known to Man are those of cadaverine and putrescine, the main components of the stench of rotting meat. Speculation: our instinctive revulsion for these compounds is an evolutionary response to the fact that, in the pre-civilization wilds, dead bodies represented either deadlly disease or deadly predators.

I suspect that for most species, rotting corpses will represent either a survival hazard or a source of food, and will rarely, if ever, be a source of indifference. I can't offer any citations, but I seem to recall that scavenger die-off is a recognized harbinger of epidemic infectious disease.

Although I haven't seen it for years, I vaguely recall the explanation in I think it was "Return of The living Dead" (the only series I've seen where the Zombies specifically ate brains) was that it slowed down the process of decomposition (this was explained by a disembodied Zombies head I believe).

As was also stated in Zack Snyder's remake of Romero's "Dawn Of The Dead", Zombies aren't cannibals. They definitely prefer living flesh not that of their own species.

It's interesting isn't it, that what are essentially altered human beings (Vampires, ghouls, Zombies etc) or in the case of "28 Days Later" just really reaaally pissed of people, are often some of the most terrifying monsters on the screen.

Its a case of horrors of each decade playing off of current fears. even books like dracula are supposed to in some waas represent sexuality and STIs. Slither kinda following the same idea in the fear of sexuality and disease. The current fear is the fear of avian flus and biological terrorism and such and zombie outbreak movies reflect this along with our knowledge of what another humans hands and teeth are actually capable of if our animal side shines through.

Although I haven't seen it for years, I vaguely recall the explanation in I think it was "Return of The living Dead" (the only series I've seen where the Zombies specifically ate brains) was that it slowed down the process of decomposition (this was explained by a disembodied Zombies head I believe).

It was actually that the endorphins reduced the 'pain of being dead' 'cause apparently 'being dead hurts'.

I have a feeling you're not taking the subject of zombies eating zombies very seriously ....... you'll see .......you'll all see, mwahahahahaha. XD

Well, I for one am certainly trying to make sense of the concept. So, does a zombie know a person is not a zombie because they don't smell? Therefore, would one be able to camouflage oneself by wearing a rotting meat shirt, I wonder?

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Well, I for one am certainly trying to make sense of the concept. So, does a zombie know a person is not a zombie because they don't smell? Therefore, would one be able to camouflage oneself by wearing a rotting meat shirt, I wonder?

That was tried in the Walking Dead season 1 (ep 2 or 3??) to retreive a bag o'guns. 2 of the humans smeared pulped zombie over their clothing and went a-wandering among the undead. And IIRC, it worked, at least until it started raining...

So WD zombies are attracted by smell, sight and noise at least. They can also seemingly detect non-zombie movements. YZMV, of course.

Just keep a cricket bat at hand at all times.

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Well, I for one am certainly trying to make sense of the concept. So, does a zombie know a person is not a zombie because they don't smell? Therefore, would one be able to camouflage oneself by wearing a rotting meat shirt, I wonder?

That was tried in the Walking Dead season 1 (ep 2 or 3??) to retreive a bag o'guns. 2 of the humans smeared pulped zombie over their clothing and went a-wandering among the undead. And IIRC, it worked, at least until it started raining...

So WD zombies are attracted by smell, sight and noise at least. They can also seemingly detect non-zombie movements. YZMV, of course.

Just keep a cricket bat at hand at all times.

And in Shaun of the Dead, Shaun and his chums merely acted like zombies to get past the horde outside the pub!

"Just look at the face: it's vacant, with a hint of sadness. Like a drunk who's lost a bet."

Well, I for one am certainly trying to make sense of the concept. So, does a zombie know a person is not a zombie because they don't smell? Therefore, would one be able to camouflage oneself by wearing a rotting meat shirt, I wonder?

That was tried in the Walking Dead season 1 (ep 2 or 3??) to retreive a bag o'guns. 2 of the humans smeared pulped zombie over their clothing and went a-wandering among the undead. And IIRC, it worked, at least until it started raining...

So WD zombies are attracted by smell, sight and noise at least. They can also seemingly detect non-zombie movements. YZMV, of course.

Just keep a cricket bat at hand at all times.

Yeah I found that a little unlikely myself, I always figured it would be a combo of smell, body heat and movement. Of course if one could come up with some sort of concoction that could temporarily fool them into thinking each other was alive, that could be useful. Although nigh on impossible to achieve I would imagine, which may be why I've yet to see it used as a plot device.

BTW YZMV? you're just makin em up now! I'll translate that as "Your Zombie May Vary".

Toxoplasmosis is a mind control~y parasite that aims to infect warm blooded animals and causes behaviour in whatever it has infected to allow this to happen. Other parasites have ants crawl to the top of grass blades at a time in which they're likely to be eaten. It wouldn't be too much a stretch for a zombie type disease to use small indicators that differentiate between the living and the dead maybe even a smell specific to the parasite itself . There's a fish parasite that has them show shiny side up to be picked up and eaten by birds then pooped out to spread the infection further. they're pretty ingenious in use and recognition of behaviour.

What I'd like to know is why animals don't go after zombies? You'd expect that legions of crows and ravens, if not every other predator in the area (including dogs) would be all over them in an instant. The birds at least ought to render any zombies down to bare bones in a few hours, going by recent studies with buzzards and human corpses.

So we should be breeding large populations of carrion-eaters now, as a defence against future zombie risings?? A study is needed to determine optimum size of carrion-eater pack for a given quantity of zombies to guarantee success, given the likely high attrition rate.

And what if you were up against one of the zombie strains that could affect non-human animals. Wouldn't unleash the hyenas and vultures on those, if I were you.

What I'd like to know is why animals don't go after zombies? You'd expect that legions of crows and ravens, if not every other predator in the area (including dogs) would be all over them in an instant. The birds at least ought to render any zombies down to bare bones in a few hours, going by recent studies with buzzards and human corpses.

So we should be breeding large populations of carrion-eaters now, as a defence against future zombie risings?? A study is needed to determine optimum size of carrion-eater pack for a given quantity of zombies to guarantee success, given the likely high attrition rate.

And what if you were up against one of the zombie strains that could affect non-human animals. Wouldn't unleash the hyenas and vultures on those, if I were you.

What I'd like to know is why animals don't go after zombies? You'd expect that legions of crows and ravens, if not every other predator in the area (including dogs) would be all over them in an instant. The birds at least ought to render any zombies down to bare bones in a few hours, going by recent studies with buzzards and human corpses.

So we should be breeding large populations of carrion-eaters now, as a defence against future zombie risings?? A study is needed to determine optimum size of carrion-eater pack for a given quantity of zombies to guarantee success, given the likely high attrition rate.

And what if you were up against one of the zombie strains that could affect non-human animals. Wouldn't unleash the hyenas and vultures on those, if I were you.

Ooooohhh that could Go Bad. In more ways than one.

Breed the packs of carrrion eaters, but fit collars with explosive charges to them before release so that if they are infected we can remotely detonate them and save ourselvess from the horror of zombie vultures =P and take out a few zombies. Although I'm sure the RSPCA would not approve and I hate condoning animal cruelty.

Also if zombies can detect body temp as well as smell and movement, then an insulated suit covered in rotting meat (or better still with canisters of rotten smell chemicals- so that if it rains you can release more stench) is the answer surely? I bet someone in the SP community could produce this.

It could be the lack of certain chemicals given off by living parasites or viruses that could be triggering the feeding frenzy whenever someone living passes, and a suit of meat may not cut it , by the time this is researched and something created to mask the fact you're not an active member of the dead, it could be way down the line anyway when establish societies are setup. At that point it would be for scavenging and hunting and might be too bulky and warm to make these things viable for more than an hour or so before you start over heating in an insulated suit. sorry, i'm really trying to poke holes in surviving XD

The rabies virus is supposed to cause hydrophobia in humans, among other symptoms. I suppose this indicates that just like Toxoplasmosis, it is to some extent not just making you sick but controlling your behaviour.I'd imagine that a virus infected zombie is reverting to a rather primal state, and is attacking people for that reason, simply for meat. However few animals would eat anything that smells rotting I'd say. The zombie might well be walking around, but still be slowly decaying, similar to gangrene. This would keep other zombies from trying to eat it. Though that doesn't explain why they wouldn't just eat the ducks at the park instead.